Container

ABSTRACT

An adhesive container for containing an instantaneous adhesive and used to apply the instantaneous adhesive to an object to be attached. The adhesive container is provided with small containers ( 2 ) in each of which the instantaneous adhesive is sealed, and also with a holding mechanism ( 1 ) which integrally holds the small containers ( 2 ) and is configured in such a manner that one of the small containers is provided in a use region (F) in which the small container can apply the instantaneous adhesive to an object to be attached and that the remaining small containers are provided in a retreat region (R) connecting to the use region (F).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a container used for containing acontent in a liquid form, a paste form, a jelly form and the like anddischarging the content to use.

BACKGROUND ART

The container of this kind is used for containing an adhesive and thelike. Various types of adhesives are widely distributed in a market.Among others, a moisture-curable adhesive of which principal componentsis cyanoacrylate is known as a so-called instantaneous adhesive (referto the following nonpatent literature, for example). The cyanoacrylateis monomer at first, however, when this reacts with moisture in air oron a surface of an object to be adhered, this rapidly starts topolymerize to be polymer and is solidified to adhere.

The instantaneous adhesive may obtain firm adhesion force in extremelyshort time and is convenient. On the other hand, this has disadvantagethat deterioration during preservation is quick. Each time theinstantaneous adhesive is used, external air enters the container and itis not rare that the adhesive remaining in the container is exposed tothe external air to be solidified. In this case, the remaining adhesivegoes to waste.

Deterioration of the content remaining in the container during thepreservation is not limited to the adhesive. Flavor of seasoning andcondiments also is deteriorated with time after opening. Although it isideal to use up them in good time, they are not often consumed a lot insingle occasion due to nature thereof.

DOCUMENT Nonpatent Literature

Nonpatent Literature 1: “Adhesive, Paper Bond”, KOKUYO General Catalog2008, Stationary, KOKUYO Co, Ltd., December 2007, p.530

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problem to Be Solved By the Invention

The present invention is achieved by focusing on the above-describedproblem for the first time, and a principal object thereof is toeliminate waste due to difficulty in usage and impossibility in usage ofthe remaining content, which is not used in single usage anddeteriorated.

Means for Solving Problem

In the present invention, the container provided with a plurality ofsmall containers in each of which the content is enclosed and a holdingmechanism for integrally holding the plurality of small containers andarranging one of them in a use region in which the content may bedischarged to be used and arranging remaining ones in a retreat regioncontinuous from the use region.

Since the content is divided into a plurality of small containers to beenclosed, the small container may be opened one by one at the time ofusage and it is easy to use up the content of an amount of one smallcontainer with nothing left. The small container, which is not necessaryat that time, is not required to be opened and the content in theunopened small container may be preserved for a long time. If thecontent remaining in the opened small container is deteriorated(solidified in a case of the adhesive) , a maximum loss is limited toone small container. According to this, waste due to the difficulty inusage and the impossibility in usage of the unused remaining contentdecreases.

In order to make operation to discharge the content to use easy, it isdesirable that the holding mechanism is provided on a holder includingthe use region and the retreat region and a lever for squeezing thesmall container arranged in the use region is provided on the holder.

When the lever is provided with a squeezing body brought into contactwith the small container when squeezing the small container arranged onthe use region and when an inner peripheral surface of the squeezingbody has a concave surface shape corresponding to an outer peripheralsurface of a site with which the squeezing body is brought into contactof the small container, the small container may be squeezed not at apoint but at a surface, so that the content may be efficiently squeezed.

When the lever is provided with a plurality of springs engaging with aperipheral wall of the holder for accumulating reaction force by beingelastically deformed when squeezing the small container arranged on theuse region, the plurality of springs separately stand side by side andthe small container arranged on the use region is accommodated betweenthe springs, it becomes possible to inhibit the small container fromrelatively slipping in the holder when squeezing the small container bythe springs of the lever.

When the holder is provided with a pushing mechanism for pushing out thesmall container arranged in the retreat region toward the use region,the small container arranged in the use region is pushed out to beremoved by a next small container right behind the same and the nextsmall container is newly arranged in the use region by operation of thepushing mechanism, discharge of the used up small container and loadingof the new small container may be simultaneously performed andconvenience is further improved.

When a rotation inhibiting mechanism for inhibiting the small containerarranged in the use region from rotating around an axial line isprovided between the holder and the small container, it is preventedthat the small container rotates in the holder to prevent openingoperation when opening the small container.

When the holding mechanism is configured to hold the plurality of smallcontainers in a state being arranged in a straight line, it becomespossible to hold a large number of small containers while making anentire container smaller. Also, since the container has a pen-likeshape, this may be used in a posture to hold a pen.

When the pushing mechanism is composed of a slider capable of movingback and forth in an axial direction (direction of movement when thesmall container moves from the retreat region to the use region)relative to the holder main body, and the slider is provided with aalternative portion selectively engaging with any of a plurality ofengaging sites intermittently arranged in the axial direction of theholder main body and are concave in a direction intersecting with theaxial direction, an elastic portion for accumulating the reaction forceby being elastically deformed with escape of the alternative portionfrom the engaging site, and a restrained portion capable of displacingbetween a restrained position in which the alternative portion engagingwith the engaging site is inhibited from escaping from the engaging siteand a release position in which the alternative portion is allowed toescape from the engaging site with deformation of the elastic portion,it is possible to mount both of a alternative mechanism for applyingclick feeling (alternative feeling) at a plurality of sites on a pathwayof slide movement of the slider and a switching mechanism forinhibiting/allowing the slide movement of the slider on a single slidermember, and this contributes to small sizing of the mechanism, smallsizing of the holder, and eventually, small sizing of the product.

When an opening tool for opening the small container arranged in the useregion is further provided, time and effort to prepare a tool such asscissors and an eyeleteer when opening the small container may beeliminated.

When the small container is obtained by integrally forming a dischargeopening of the content with a lid body to seal the same, an engagingportion for engaging with the discharge opening to block the dischargeopening is provided on the lid body, the small container is opened bydetaching the lid body from the discharge opening of the smallcontainer, and the discharge opening is blocked by allowing the engagingportion of the lid body to engage with the discharge opening thereafter,the lid body once cut off from the small container becomes again the lidof the small container of which content remains and this is convenientto temporarily preserve the unused remaining content. In addition,disadvantage that the content leaks from the small container whendisposing the small container may be avoided.

When the small container is obtained by integrally forming the dischargeopening of the content with the lid body for sealing the same, theholding mechanism is provided on the holder including the use region andthe retreat region, the cap capable of being mounted on the holder mainbody engages with the lid body of the small container and the lid bodyis detached from the discharge opening of the small container byoperation of the cap, the small container may be easily opened by usingthe cap as the opening tool.

When the cap is provided with the cutting unit mounted on the holdermain body and having an engaging body engaging with the lid body of thesmall container and an accumulating unit including an accumulation'spacecommunicated with the cutting unit for accumulating the lid body cut bythe cutting unit, the lid body, which is a waste generated with theopening of the small container may be suitably accumulated andconvenience is further improved.

When a falling inhibiting structure for inhibiting or preventing the lidbody cut by the cutting unit from falling without reaching theaccumulation space is formed on the cutting unit, the lid body cut outfrom the small container may be allowed to surely flow on a side of theaccumulation space. Possibility that the lid body unexpectedly fallenfrom the cap falls on a desk and a floor to make environment dirtydecreases.

The container of the present invention is extremely suitable as thecontainer of the adhesive, especially the moisture-curable adhesive orthe instantaneous adhesive.

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, it is possible to decrease the wastedue to the difficulty in using and the impossibility in using of thedeteriorated content, which remains unused by single usage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view illustrating a container of oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of the container;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of the container;

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view illustrating a small container in thisembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the small container;

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view illustrating a situation to operate apushing mechanism to push out the small container;

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view illustrating a situation in which thepushing mechanism is operated to push out the small container and load anext small container;

FIG. 8 is a sectional side view illustrating a situation to open thesmall container by using an opening tool;

FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of a substantial part illustrating asituation in which a lid body detached from a discharge opening of thesmall container is used as a lid again;

FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of a substantial part illustrating asituation to press a lever to squeeze the small container;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a modified example of thepresent invention;

FIG. 12 is a sectional side view illustrating a modified example of thepresent invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the container of anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the container;

FIG. 15 is a sectional side view of the container;

FIG. 16 is a partially broken side view of a front end portion of thecontainer as seen from a direction opposite to that in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a front view of an inner guide in this embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a front view of a stopper in this embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a sectional side view of a substantial part illustrating asituation to operate the pushing mechanism to push out the smallcontainer;

FIG. 20 is a sectional side view illustrating a situation to operate thepushing mechanism to push out the small container and load the nextsmall container;

FIG. 21 is a horizontal sectional view of a slider member in thisembodiment;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the slider member as seen from adirection opposite to that in FIG. 14;

FIG. 23 is a front sectional view illustrating alternative mechanism inthis embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a front sectional view illustrating the alternativemechanism;

FIG. 25 is a front sectional view illustrating a situation in which arestrained portion is displaced from a restrained position to a releaseposition in the alternative mechanism;

FIG. 26 is a front sectional view illustrating a situation in which aalternative portion escapes from an engaging site in the alternativemechanism;

FIG. 27 is a rear view of a cap in this embodiment;

FIG. 28 is a horizontal sectional view of a substantial partillustrating a situation to open the small container by using the cap,which is the opening tool;

FIG. 29 is a rear sectional view illustrating the lever in thisembodiment;

FIG. 30 is a sectional side view of a substantial part illustrating asituation to press the lever to squeeze the small container; and

FIG. 31 is a horizontal sectional view of a substantial partillustrating a modified example of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First Embodiment

One embodiment of the present invention is described with reference tothe drawings. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a container of this embodimentis an adhesive container for containing an adhesive provided with aplurality of small containers (refills) 2 in each of which the adhesiveis enclosed and a holder 1 for integrally holding the small containers2. The adhesive, which is a content, is a moisture-curable adhesive ofwhich principal component is cyanoacrylate or an instantaneous adhesive,for example.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the small container 2 is obtained bycombining a discharging unit 22 having a cylindrical discharge opening221 of which diameter is smaller than that of a container main body witha bottomed cylindrical base 21. The base 21 is fabricated by blowmolding and the like of plastic and the discharging unit 22 isfabricated by injection molding and the like of the plastic. Aperipheral wall on a rear end side of the discharging unit 22 has ashape, which expands like a funnel (in other words, tapered) andthereafter parallelly extends in an axial direction toward the base 21to cover a front end side of the base 21. A screw seal is adopted as ajoining structure of the front end side of the base 21 and the rear endside of the discharging unit 22.

A lid body 222 for sealing the discharge opening 221 is integrallyformed with a front end site of the discharge opening 221 of thedischarging unit 22. The lid body 222 has a substantially polygonal(square, in an illustrated example) outer periphery and has a bottomedconcave hole 223, which opens forward. An inner peripheral shape of theconcave hole 223 is substantially identical to an outer peripheral shapeof the discharge opening 221. A boundary portion between the dischargeopening 221 and the lid body 222 is surrounded by a concave groove 224and the peripheral wall is made thin by the concave groove 224. Theconcave groove 224 is a groove having a substantially V-shape in crosssection.

A protrusion 225, which protrudes outward, is formed on a part of anouter peripheral surface of the small container 2. The protrusion 225parallelly extends in the axial direction. Although the protrusion 225is provided on the rear end side of the discharging unit 22 in thisembodiment, this may also be provided on the base 21.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, a substantial part of the holder 1 is aholder main body 11 having an elliptic cylindrical shape elongated inthe axial direction. The holder main body 11 is a plastic member foraccommodating a plurality of small containers 2 in an inner spacethereof in a state being arranged in a straight line, and a mostanterior region in the inner space becomes a use region F and acontinuous region behind the use region F becomes a retreat region R.The small container 2 arranged in the use region F has the dischargeopening 221 exposed to outside and is capable of discharging theadhesive accumulated therein and applying the same to an object to beadhered.

A peripheral wall, which surrounds the use region F, expands in a widthdirection intersecting with the axial direction and an inner diameterthereof in the width direction is larger than an outer diameter of thebase 21 of the small container 2. Therefore, there is a gap between aninner surface on one side (upper side in the drawing) of the peripheralwall opposed in the width direction and the base 21 of the smallcontainer 2 arranged in the use region F. A stopper 12 for sandwichingthe small container 2 in the use region F is provided in the gap.

The stopper 12 has a substantially partially cylindrical shape, whichparallelly extends in the axial direction, and a rear end side thereofis fixed to the peripheral wall of the holder main body 11. A front endside of the stopper 12 serves as a resin spring and may be bent to bedeformed outward (upward in the drawing) through elastic deformation. Afront end of the stopper 12 and a front end on the other side (lowerside in the drawing) of the peripheral wall opposed in the widthdirection are bent inward so as to approach each other and an innersurface of the bent portion is brought into contact with thefunnel-shaped portion of the discharging unit 22 of the small container2, thereby preventing the small container 2 from escaping forward.

Although the peripheral wall, which surrounds the retreat region R, alsoexpands in the width direction intersecting with the axial direction, arib 111 protrudes inward (downward in the drawing) from the innersurface on one side of the peripheral wall opposed in the widthdirection. An inner diameter between an inner end face of the rib 111and the inner surface on the other side of the peripheral wall opposedin the width direction is substantially identical to the outer diameterof the base 21 of the small container 2.

Continuous concave threads 112 and 113 extending in the axial directionare formed on the inner surface on the other side of the peripheral wallopposed in the width direction throughout the use region F and theretreat region R. The concave threads are a bottomed groove 112, whichdoes not penetrate the peripheral wall, on a site facing to the useregion F and is a slot hole 113, which penetrates the peripheral wall,on a site facing to the retreat region R. The protrusion 225 provided onthe small container 2 is inserted into the concave threads 112 and 113to guide the small container 2 in the axial direction and inhibit thesmall container 2 from rotating around an axial line relative to theholder 1. That is to say, the concave threads 112 and 113 and theprotrusion 225 compose a rotation inhibiting mechanism for inhibitingthe small container 2 arranged in the use region F from rotating aroundthe axial line.

A slider 13 is attached to the holder main body 11. The slider 13 servesto retain the small containers 2 arranged in the use region F and theretreat region R and serves to push out the small container 2 in theretreat region R toward the use region F. The slider 13 is a block bodycapable of moving back and forth in the axial direction relative to theholder main body 11. A part of the slider 13 is inserted into the innerspace of the holder main body 11 through the slot hole 113 facing to theretreat region R and an abutment surface 131, which is struck against arear end face of the base 21 of the small container 2, is provided onthis part.

A supported piece 132 protrudes in a tangential direction of theperipheral wall, that is to say, in a circumferential direction from anintermediate portion in the width direction of the slider 13, a sitefacing to an outer surface of the peripheral wall. On the other hand, aslider supporting unit 114 for holding the supported piece 132 is formedon the outer surface of the peripheral wall. The slider supporting unit114 has two collateral walls, which extend outward from two positionsopposed to each other across the slot hole 113 and are bent thereafterso as to approach each other, as an outline, and this accommodates thesupported piece 132 in a space enclosed by the collateral walls and theperipheral wall of the holder main body 11, thereby guiding the slider13 in the axial direction and preventing the slider 13 from escapingoutward. A site outside of the supported piece 132 of the slider 13protrudes from the slider supporting unit 114 and is exposed to be aknob operated by a user. In a situation that the user does not applyoperation force to the slider 13, a relative position of the slider 13relative to the holder main body 11 is maintained by friction betweenthe supported piece 132 and the slider supporting unit 114. However, itis also possible to provide a alternative mechanism and the like betweenthe supported piece 132 and the slider supporting unit 114 to fix thesupported piece 132 and eventually, the slider 13 at a plurality ofpositions in the axial direction.

The inner space of the holder main body 11 and the space of the slidersupporting unit 114 open rearward. They are closed by an end cap 14. Theend cap 14 may be detachably mounted on a rear end site of the holdermain body 11. Also, a depression 141 opening rearward is formed on arear end face of the end cap 14. An inner peripheral shape of thedepression 141 is substantially polygonal and substantially identical tothe outer peripheral shape of the lid body 222 of the small container 2.

By removing the end cap 14 and the slider 13 from the holder main body11, inserting a plurality of small containers 2 into the inner space ofthe holder main body 11 from behind to arrange them in series,thereafter attaching the slider 13 again and striking the abutmentsurface 131 thereof against a rear end face of a last small container 2,a first small container 2 is retained in the use region F and asubsequent small container 2 is retained in the retreat region R,respectively.

In order to remove the small container 2 already used arranged in theuse region F and newly load a next small container 2 in the use regionF, the operation force is applied to the slider 13 to perform operationto move the slider 13 forward. According to this, the small container 2in the use region F is pushed by the next small container 2 right behindthe same, and the front end of the stopper 12 and the front end of theperipheral wall opposed to the same are cleaved with the elasticdeformation of the stopper 12 to be expanded such that the base 21 ofthe small container 2 may pass therebetween, as illustrated in FIG. 6.By further moving the slider 13, the used small container 2 in the useregion F is completely pushed out of the holder 1 to escape and thestopper 12, which is elastically deformed, restores its original shape.Then, the funnel-shaped portion of the discharging unit 22 of the newsmall container 2, which reaches the use region F, is latched by thebent portion on the front ends of the stopper 12 and the peripheralwall. As a result, the small container 2 in the use region F issandwiched by the stopper 12 and the peripheral wall to be retainedtogether with remaining small containers 2 in the retreat region R bythe abutment surface 131 of the slider 13, as illustrated in FIG. 7. Asa whole, the holder main body 11, the stopper 12 and the slider 13compose a holding mechanism for holding a plurality of small containers2 and the slider 13 composes a pushing mechanism for pushing out thesmall container 2 toward the use region F.

In order to actually apply the adhesive to the object to be adhered, itis necessary to open the small container 2 in the use region F. In orderto open an unused small container 2 and open the discharge opening 221,the lid body 222 integrally formed with the discharge opening 221 is:detached from the discharge opening 221. At that time, the end cap 14maybe used as an opening tool. That is to say, as illustrated in FIG. 8,by inserting the lid body 222 into the depression 141 of the end cap 14detached from the holder main body 11 and rotating the end cap 14 aroundthe axial line, the lid body 222 may be easily wrung off at a concavegroove 224 portion. Of course, it is possible to grasp the lid body 222by hand and finger to wring off the same.

When the adhesive remains in the small container 2 after applying theadhesive to the object to be adhered, as illustrated in FIG. 9, byturning the lid body 222 detached from the discharge opening 221 andinserting the discharge opening 221 into the concave hole 223 to blockthe discharge opening 221, the remaining adhesive may be temporarilypreserved. In this manner, the concave hole 223 of the lid body 222becomes an engaging portion, which engages with the discharge opening221.

In addition, a lever 15 for squeezing the small container 2 arranged inthe use region F is attached to the holder main body 11. The lever 15 issuch that a front end side thereof is fixed in the vicinity of a frontend of the peripheral wall of the holder main body 11 and a rear endside thereof is swingable, and a squeezing body 151 protrudes inwardfrom an intermediate site thereof. The squeezing body 151 enters the useregion F in the inner space, especially a position facing to the base 21of the small container 2 through through-holes 115 and 121 provided onthe peripheral wall of the holder main body 11 and the stopper 12,respectively.

At the time of application operation of the adhesive, the user holds afront end site of the holder 1 in a posture to hold a pen, for example,and presses the rear end side of the lever 15 by the hand and finger. Inthis manner, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the rear end side of the lever15 becomes a point of effort, the front end side thereof becomes a pointof support and the squeezing body 151 becomes a point of effect, and thesmall container 2 may be squeezed by a principle of leverage and theadhesive in the small container 2 may be discharged from the dischargeopening 221.

According to this embodiment, the adhesive container provided with aplurality of small containers 2 in each of which the adhesive isenclosed and the holding mechanism for integrally holding the pluralityof small containers 2 and arranging one of them in the use region F inwhich the adhesive may be applied to the object to be adhered andremaining ones in the retreat region R continuous from the use region Fis composed, so that it is possible to divide the adhesive to aplurality of small containers 2 and open the small container 2 one byone at the time of usage to use the adhesive. Therefore, it is easy touse up the adhesive of an amount of one small container 2 with nothingleft, the small container 2 unnecessary at that time is not required tobe opened and the adhesive in the unopened small container 2 may bepreserved for a long time. If the adhesive remaining in the opened smallcontainer 2 is solidified, a maximum amount of loss is limited to onesmall container 2. According to this, waste due to difficulty in usageand impossibility in usage of the solidified remaining adhesivedecreases.

Since the holding mechanism is provided on the holder 1 including theuse region F and the retreat region R and the lever 15 for squeezing thesmall container 2 arranged in the use region F is provided on the holder1, operation to discharge the adhesive from the small container 2 andapply the same to the object to be adhered becomes easy.

The pushing mechanism for pushing out the small container 2 arranged inthe retreat region R toward the use region F is provided on the holder1, the small container 2 arranged in the use region F is pushed out bythe next small container 2 right behind the same to be removed and thenext small container 2 is newly arranged in the use region F byoperation of the pushing mechanism, so that discharge of the used upsmall container 2 and loading of the new small container 2 may besimultaneously performed, and convenience is further improved.

Since the rotation inhibiting mechanism for inhibiting the smallcontainer 2 arranged in the use region F from rotating around the axialline is provided between the holder 1 and the small container 2, it isprevented that the small container 2 rotates in the holder 1 to preventopening operation when opening the small container 2.

Since the holding mechanism is configured to hold the plurality of smallcontainers 2 in a state being arranged in a straight line, it becomespossible to hold a large number of small containers 2 while making anentire container smaller. Also, the container has a pen-like shape, sothat this may be used in the posture to hold the pen.

The opening tool 14 for opening the small container 2 arranged in theuse region F is further provided, so that time and effort to prepare thetool such as scissors and an eyeleteer when opening the small container2 may be eliminated.

The small container 2 is obtained by integrally forming the dischargeopening 221 of the adhesive with the lid body 222 for sealing the same,an engaging portion 223, which engages with the discharge opening 221 toblock the discharge opening 221, is provided on the lid body 222, thesmall container 2 is opened by detaching the lid body 222 from thedischarge opening 221 of the small container 2, and the dischargeopening 221 is blocked by allowing the engaging portion 223 of the lidbody 222 to engage with the discharge opening 221 thereafter, so thatthe lid body 222 once detached from the small container 2 becomes againthe lid of the small container 2 in which the adhesive remains, and thisis useful for temporarily preserving the unused remaining adhesive. Inaddition, disadvantage that the content leaks from the small containerwhen disposing the small container may be avoided.

The adhesive container of this embodiment is extremely suitable as thecontainer of the moisture-curable adhesive or the instantaneousadhesive.

Meanwhile, the present invention is not limited to the embodimentdescribed above in detail. Although the holding mechanism retains eachof the small container arranged in the use region and the smallcontainer arranged in the retreat region relative to the holder in theabove-described embodiment, the small container in the retreat region isnot necessarily required to be retained relative to the holder.

Although the small container is composed of two parts, which are thebase and the discharging unit, in the above-described embodiment, thesmall container may also be composed of one part. For example, the smallcontainer may be fabricated of one part by filling a member obtained bythe blow molding and the like with the content and sealing an openingthereof by thermal fusion bonding and the like.

Although the engaging portion of the lid body is the concave hole, whichcovers an outer periphery of the discharge opening of the smallcontainer 2 in the above-described embodiment, on the other hand, aneedle-shaped body or a bar-shaped body inserted into the dischargeopening to block the same may be provided on the Lid body as theengaging portion.

The holding mechanism is not limited to that, which holds a plurality ofsmall containers in a state being arranged in a straight line. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the holder 1 having a revolver-typeretaining mechanism for arranging a plurality of small containers 2around a predetermined center axis may be composed. In this example, aplurality of accommodating holes 161 are provided intermittently in acircumferential direction on a revolver 16 supported by the holder mainbody 11 so as to be rotatable around the center axis, and the smallcontainer 2 may be accommodated in each of the accommodating holes 161.The revolver 16 becomes the retreat region R of the small container 2.Then, the slider 13 serves as the pushing mechanism for striking thesmall container 2 from the accommodating hole located in a certaindirection as seen from the center axis to push the same in the useregion F located on a front end site of the holder main body 11.Meanwhile, in this example, a needle 171 protruding and extendingrearward is mounted in a front cap 17, which may be mounted on the frontend site of the holder main body 11. The needle 171 pierces thedischarge opening 221 of the small container 2 arranged in the useregion F when mounting the front cap 17 on the holder main body 11. Thefront cap 17 serves as the opening tool for opening the unopened smallcontainer 2 and also serves as the lid to block the discharge opening221 of the opened small container 2.

The holding mechanism is not necessarily provided on the holder 1separate from the small container. For example, as illustrated in FIG.12, it is also possible to provide a connecting portion 23 forconnecting another small container 2 on the small container 2 itself,connect a plurality of small containers 2 in a state being arranged in astraight line and integrally hold them by using the connecting portion23 as the holding mechanism. In this example, the first small container2 is the small container 2 located in the use region F and thesubsequent small container 2 is the small container 2 located in theretreat region R.

Second Embodiment

Another embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter describedwith reference to the drawings. As illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 15, thecontainer of this embodiment also is the adhesive container forcontaining the adhesive provided with a plurality of small containers 4in each of which the adhesive is enclosed and a holder 3 for integrallyholding the small containers 4. The adhesive, which is the content, isthe moisture-curable adhesive of which principal component is thecyanoacrylate or the instantaneous adhesive, for example.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14, 15, 28 and the like, the small container 4is obtained by combining a hollow base 41 having a teardrop-shape ofwhich outer periphery is cylindrical and of which rear end side smoothlycurves to be narrow with a discharging unit 42 having a dischargeopening 421 having a cone-cylinder shape of which diameter is smallerthan that of the base 41. The base 41 is not a bottomed cylinder inorder to crush the base 41 by smaller force and to prevent the adhesivefrom remaining in the base 41 without being squeezed. From a viewpointto maintain air tightness and maintain a quality of the instantaneousadhesive, a peripheral wall of the base 41 is required to be thick asfar as possible. However, when a bottomed cylindrical base 41 is madethick, this becomes hard and it is difficult to squeeze the same.Therefore, by forming the base 41 to have the teardrop-shape, securementof the thickness of the peripheral wall and ease of squeeze arecompatible.

A lid body 422 for sealing the discharge opening 421 is integrallyformed with a front end site of the discharge opening 421 on thedischarging unit 42. The lid body 422 has an outer periphery havingpinion-shaped concavity and convexity and has a bottomed concave hole423, which opens forward. An inner periphery of the concave hole 423substantially corresponds to an outer periphery of the front end site ofthe discharge opening 421. A boundary portion between the dischargeopening 421 and the lid body 422 is surrounded by a concave groove 424and a peripheral wall is made thin by the concave groove 424. Theconcave groove 424 is a groove having the V-shape in cross section.

A polygonal guide block 43, which parallelly extends in the axialdirection, is provided on a rear end side of the discharging unit 42. Inan illustrated example, the guide block 43 has a substantially hexagonalcolumnar outer shape and dimension between opposed surfaces of the outerperiphery is larger than an outer diameter of the base 41. A cornerbetween an outer peripheral surface and a front end face of the guideblock 43 is chamfered.

In addition, a dripping receiver is mounted on the small container 4.The dripping receiver serves to prevent the adhesive, which drips fromthe discharge opening 421, from falling down an outer peripheral surfaceof the discharging unit 42 to adhere to the outer peripheral surfaces ofthe guide block 43 and the base 41, and to the holder 3. The drippingreceiver has a partition wall 441, which expands outward from the outerperipheral surface of the discharging unit 42, and an outline wall 442,which extends from an outer peripheral edge of the partition wall 441toward the front end side to surround the discharging unit 42, ascomponents. The partition wall 441 is brought into contact with oradjacent to the front end face of the guide block 43. An outer diameterof the outline wall 442 is not larger than the dimension between theopposed surfaces of the outer periphery of the guide block 43.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 to 16 and the like, a substantial part of theholder 3 is a rectangular holder main body 31 elongated in the axialdirection. The holder main body 31 is configured to accommodate aplurality of small containers 4 in an inner space thereof in a statebeing arranged in a straight line in which a most anterior region in theinner space becomes the use region F and a continuous region behind theuse region F becomes the retreat region R. The small container 4arranged in the use region F has the discharge opening 421 exposed tooutside and is capable of discharging the accumulated adhesive to applythe same to the object to be adhered.

In this embodiment, the holder main body 31 is composed of a pluralityof members such as a base body 32, an inner guide 33 and a sleeve 34.The base body 32 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shape asan outer shape of a major part except a front end site and has acylindrical shape, which is substantially hexagonal in cross sectionextending in the axial direction as an inner periphery thereof. That isto say, this has a shape such that the guide block 43 of the smallcontainer 4 may move forward while sliding in the axial direction, andthis guides the small container 4 in the axial direction and inhibitsthe small container 4 from rotating around the axial line relative tothe holder 3. Continuous slot hole 321, which extends in the axialdirection, is formed on one side (upper side in the drawing) ofperipheral walls from the rear end to the front end site. The front endsite of the base body 32 has a substantially square-like shape in whichthe wall on one side (upper side in the drawing) is completely cut outto open and the walls on two sides opposed to each other across theopening are deflected outward from the continuous wall surfaces behindthe same. Then, the inner guide 33 is accommodated in the front end siteof the base body 32 to be fixed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14, 17 and the like, the inner guide 33 is amember having an outer shape in a short substantially rectangularparallelepiped, and an inner periphery thereof is also formed into ashape such that the guide block 43 of the small container 4 may moveforward while sliding in the axial direction. An upper jaw 331, whichextends forward of front ends of the peripheral walls on other threesides is provided on a front end of a wall on one side (upper side inthe drawing) of the inner guide 33. An inner peripheral surface of theupper jaw 331 has a shape obtained by cutting to remain only a part ofedge side including two apices of a hexagon as seen from the axialdirection. Then, protrusions 332 protruding inward are formed in thevicinity of a front end of the inner peripheral surface of the upper jaw331. The protrusions 332 cover the two apices of the hexagon as seenfrom the axial direction. A rear end side of the protrusion 332 is aninclined surface inclining in the axial direction.

A stopper 35 for sandwiching the small container 4 in the use region Ftogether with the inner guide 33 is combined with the inner guide 33. Asillustrated in FIGS. 14, 15, 18 and the like, the stopper 35 has a shapeobtained by connecting end edges on one side (lower side in the drawing)of a pair of opposed walls 354 by a lower jaw 351 having a shortgutter-like shape obtained by dividing a hexagonal cylinder into half asseen from the axial direction. As in the upper jaw 331, protrusions 352protruding inward are formed in the vicinity of a front end of the innerperipheral surface of the lower jaw 351. The protrusions 352 cover twoapices of the hexagon as seen from the axial direction. A rear end sideof the protrusion 352 is an inclined surface inclining in the axialdirection.

A concavo-convex engaging structure is built between the stopper 35 andthe inner guide 33, and the stopper 35 is engaged with the inner guide33 through the concavo-convex engaging structure. Specifically, convexportions 353 are formed on inner surfaces of opposed walls 354 of thestopper 35 and concave portions 333 for receiving the convex portions353 are formed on end faces on both sides of the inner guide 33 facingto the opposed walls 354. However, it is also possible to form theconvex portions on a side of the inner guide 33 and form the concaveportions on a side of the stopper 35. The lower jaw 351 and the upperjaw 331 are opposed to each other such that inner peripheries thereofface to each other in a state in which the convex portions 353 areinserted into the concave portions 333 and the stopper 35 is combinedwith the inner guide 33.

The outer peripheral surface of the guide block 43 of the smallcontainer 4 arranged in the use region F engages with the innerperipheral surfaces of the lower jaw 351 and the upper jaw 331. Theguide block 43, the lower jaw 351 and the upper jaw 331 compose therotation inhibiting mechanism for inhibiting the small container 4arranged in the use region F from rotating around the axial line.Simultaneously, the protrusions 352 and 332 in the vicinity of the frontends of the lower jaw 351 and the upper jaw 331 engage with the cornerbetween the outer peripheral surface and the front end face of the guideblock 43 of the small container 4 to prevent the small container 4 fromescaping forward. As seen from the axial direction, the protrusions 352and 332 are arranged to block right in front of a total of four apicesincluded in a hexagonal outline of the outer periphery of the guideblock 43.

Meanwhile, outer dimension in a direction in which the lower jaw 351 andthe upper jaw 331 are opposed to each other (vertical direction in thedrawing) of the convex portion 353 is slightly smaller than innerdimension in the same direction of the concave portion 333. Therefore,the stopper 35 may be displaced in the same direction relative to theinner guide 33. Springs 355, which extend in a direction away from theupper jaw 331 of the inner guide 33 (downward in the drawing), areintegrally provided with outer surfaces of the opposed walls 354 of thestopper 35. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the spring 355 is such that a tipend thereof is brought into contact with an inner surface of aperipheral wall of a front end site of the holder main body 31 to pushup the lower jaw 351 of the stopper 35 toward the upper jaw 331 of theinner guide 33. By presence of the spring 355, in a state in which thelower jaw 351 is not subjected to an action of strong outer force, adistance in the same direction between the lower jaw 351 and the upperjaw 331 is kept to a certain distance suitable for sandwiching the guideblock 43 of the small container 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 to 16 and the like, the sleeve 34 is a memberto be mounted on the front end of the base body 32 to stand in front ofthe inner guide 33 and the stopper 35 on which an outlet hole 341through which the small container 4 may pass is formed on a front wallthereof. Although the outlet hole 341 has a substantially round holeshape as seen from the axial direction, an edge thereof is notcompletely closed and one side (lower side in the drawing) is cut outtogether with the front wall to open. The edge of the outlet hole 341extends forward to be a partially cylindrical upper fitting portion 342.Also, a partially cylindrical lower fitting portion 356 extends from thefront end of the lower jaw 351 of the stopper 35, and the upper fittingportion 342 and the lower fitting portion 356 are combined with eachother to form a substantially cylindrical boss. The upper fittingportion 342 and the lower fitting portion 356 serve as a site to which afront cap 38 to be described later is fitted.

A slider 36 is attached to the holder main body 31. The slider 36 servesto retain the small containers 4 arranged in the use region F and theretreat region R and serve to push out the small container 4 in theretreat region R toward the use region F. The slider 36 is a resinintegrally molded object capable of moving back and forth in the axialdirection relative to the holder main body 31. As illustrated in FIG. 15and the like, a part of the slider 36 is inserted into the inner spaceof the holder main body 31 through the slot hole 321 facing to theretreat region Rand an abutment surface 361, which is struck against arear end of the base 41 of the small container 4, is provided on thispart. The abutment surface 361 is a mortar-shaped concave surfacecorresponding to a shape of the rear end of the base 41 in theteardrop-shape.

As illustrated in FIGS. 21 to 26 and the like, a supported frame 362protrudes from a site facing to an outer surface of the peripheral wallof the holder main body 31 of the slider 36 in a tangential direction ofthe peripheral wall. On the other hand, a slider supporting unit 322 forholding the supported frame 362 is formed on the outer surface of theperipheral wall of the holder main body 31. The slider supporting unit322 has two collateral walls, which extend outward from two positionsopposed to each other across the slot hole 321 and thereafter bent in adirection to approach each other, as an outline, and accommodates thesupported frame 362 in a space enclosed by the collateral walls and theperipheral wall of the holder main body 31, thereby guiding the slider36 in the axial direction and preventing the slider 36 from escapingoutward. As illustrated in FIGS. 14, 15 and the like, a slit 323 formedbetween tip end edges of the two collateral walls extends in the axialdirection, and the tip end edges of the both collateral walls are cutout at a plurality of sites in the middle to provide concave cutouts324. The concave cutout 324 is concave in the direction intersectingwith the axial direction and an opening width of the slit 323 locallyenlarges by the concave cutout 324. A distance between the concavecutouts 324 intermittently arranged in the axial direction issubstantially identical to front-back dimension of the small container4. A site outer than the supported frame 362 of the slider 36 protrudesfrom the slider supporting unit 322 and is exposed to be an operationend 363 operated by the user by the hand and finger.

Both of the alternative mechanism for applying click feeling at aplurality of sites on a pathway of slide movement in the axial directionand a switching mechanism for inhibiting/allowing the slide movement ofthe slider 36 are mounted on the slider 36. When additionally describingabout a structure, of the slider 36, as illustrated in FIGS. 22 to 26,the supported frame 362 and the operation end 363 are separated fromeach other with a predetermined distance therebetween and a alternativeportion 364 and an elastic portion 365 are provided in a region betweenthe supported frame 362 and the operation end 363. The alternativeportion 364 is a site selectively engaging with any of a plurality ofconcave cutouts 324 cut out on the slit 323. As illustrated in FIG. 21,front and back ends of the alternative portion 364 are inclined surfacesinclined in the axial direction. The elastic portion 365 is anelastically deformable thin plate-shaped resin spring extending forwardfrom the alternative portion 364 and a front end thereof is connected tothe slider member 36 to be a fixed end. There are a pair of alternativeportions 364 and the elastic portions 365 in the tangential direction ofthe peripheral wall of the holder main body 31, in other words, in awidth direction of the slit 323 of the slider supporting unit 322.

The alternative portions 364 and the elastic portions 365 of the slider36 attached to the holder main body 31 are accommodated in the slit 323of the slider supporting unit 322. In a process of the slide movement ofthe slider 36 in the axial direction, a state in which the alternativeportions 364 enter the concave cutout 324 of the slit 323 to engagetherewith and a state in which they escape from the concave cutout 324to slide while being in contact with the tip end edges of the collateralwalls, that is to say, edges of the slit 323 are alternatively taken. Inthe former state illustrated in FIG. 24, a pair of alternative portions364 develop in directions away from each other, so that the elasticportions 365 are not elastically deformed, or even when they areelastically deformed, a degree thereof is relatively small. In thelatter state illustrated in FIG. 26, both of the alternative portions364 are pressed to be compressed in a direction to approach each otherby the slit 323 edges and at the same time the elastic portions 365 areelastically deformed relatively largely to accumulate reaction force.

In addition, restrained portions 366 are arranged between a pair ofalternative portions 364. The restrained portion 366 may be displaced ina direction intersecting with the axial direction and a directionintersecting with an opposing direction of both of the alternativeportions 364, in other words, the width direction of the slit 323 of theslider supporting unit 322 (vertical direction in the drawing). Then,the restrained portions 366 may selectively take a restrained positionin which they are brought into contact with or adjacent to surfaces ofthe alternative portions 364 on a side opposite to the concave cutout324, that is to say, opposed surfaces on an inner side of both of thealternative portions 364 to inhibit the compression of both of thealternative portions 364 in the direction to approach each other, and arelease position in which they are separated from the opposed surfaceson the inner side of both of the alternative portions 364 to allow thecompression of both of the alternative portions 364. The restrainedportion 366 is elastically energized outward (upward in the drawing)toward the restrained position by a spring 367.

A pressing button 368 extends outward (upward in the drawing) from therestrained portions 366. The restrained portions 366 protrude from bothside surfaces of the pressing button 368. A tip end of the pressingbutton 368 protrudes outside of an outer surface of the operation end363 through a through-hole 3631 provided on the operation end 363.

As illustrated in FIG. 24, in a situation in which the alternativeportions 364 engage with the concave cutouts 324 to be accommodated inthe concave cutouts 324 and the user does not press the pressing button368, the restrained portions 366 are on the restrained position torestrain the alternative portions 364. That is to say, the compressionof the alternative portions 364 with the deformation of the elasticportions 365 is inhibited. Therefore, even when it is tried to slidinglymove the slider 36 in the axial direction along the slit 323, thealternative portions 364 cannot escape from the concave cutouts 324, sothat the slide movement is inhibited. In this situation, as illustratedin FIG. 25, when the user presses down the pressing button 368, therestrained portions 366 displace inward (downward in the drawing) whileresisting against elastic energization force of the spring 367 to reachthe release position and is separated from the alternative portions 364.Then, the restrained portions 366 do not restrain the alternativeportions 364 and the compression of the alternative portions 364 withthe deformation of the elastic portions 365 and escape of thealternative portions 364 from the concave cutouts 324 as illustrated inFIG. 26 are allowed. Therefore the slide movement of the slider 36 isallowed.

While the user presses down the pressing button 368, the alternativeportions 364, the elastic portions 365 and the concave cutouts 324 ofthe slit 323 compose the alternative mechanism. When the user releasesthe hand and finger from the pressing button 368 in a state in which thealternative portions 364 are accommodated in any of the concave cutouts324, the restrained portions 366 return to the restrained positionillustrated in FIG. 24 to restrain the alternative portions 364 againand the relative position of the slider 36 relative to the holder mainbody 31 is fixed. That is to say, the alternative portions 364, theelastic portions 365, the restrained portions 366 and the concavecutouts 324 of the slit 323 compose the switching mechanism forinhibiting/allowing the slide movement of the slider 36. In this manner,a part of the components of the alternative mechanism and the componentsof the switching mechanism is common.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 22, in a stage of forming the slidermember 36, the restrained portions 366, the pressing button 368 and thespring 367 are continued from a rear end of the supported frame 362 andare exposed. The spring 367 is divided into two branches to extendrearward and the restrained portions 366 and the pressing button 368 arepresent between the springs 367. Front ends of the restrained portions366 and the pressing button 368 are integrally joined to a front end ofthe spring 367. The restrained portions 366, the pressing button 368 andthe spring 367 are bent forward at a connecting site to the supportedframe 362 to be inserted into an inner space of the supported frame 362and nails formed in advance on rear ends of the springs 367 are latchedby nail receivers 369 formed in advance on front ends on inner surfacesof the side walls of the supported frame 362, and according to this, astructure of the above-described slider 36 is completed.

The inner space of the holder main body 31 opens rearward. This isclosed by an end cap 37. The end cap 37 may be detachably mounted on arear end site of the base body 32 of the holder main body 31.

By detaching the end cap 37 and the slider 36 from the holder main body31, inserting a plurality of small containers 4 into the inner space ofthe holder main body 31 from behind to arrange in series, and thereafterattaching the slider 36 again to strike the abutment surface 361 thereofagainst a rear end face of the last small container 4, the first smallcontainer 4 is retained in the use region F and the subsequent smallcontainer 4 is retained in the retreat region R, respectively. Asillustrated in FIG. 15 or 20, when the alternative portions 364 of theslider 36 engage with any of the concave cutouts 324 cut out on the slit323 of the holder main body 31, the guide block 43 of the first smallcontainer 4 is sandwiched by the lower jaw 351 of the stopper 35 and theupper jaw 331 of the inner guide 33, and the rear end of the base 41 ofeach of the small containers 4 except the last small container 4 engageswith the concave hole 423 of the lid body 422 of the small container 4right behind the same and the rear end of the base 41 of the last smallcontainer 4 engages with the abutment surface 361 of the slider 36, sothat the small container 4 of an integral number are stably accommodatedwithout being shaken front-back.

When removing the used small container 4 arranged in the use region Fand newly loading the next small container 4 in the use region F, theoperation force is applied to the slider 36 to perform operation to movethe slider 36 forward. At the time of the slide operation of the slider36, as already described, the pressing button 368 is pressed down toallow the slider movement of the slider 36 and the slider 36 is allowedto move forward. Then, the small container 4 in the use region F ispushed by the next small container 4 right behind the same and the guideblock 43 of the small container 4 pushes the protrusions 352 and 332 ofthe lower jaw 351 and the upper jaw 331, respectively. According to thesame, as illustrated in FIG. 19, the lower jaw 351 is separated from theupper jaw 331 opposed to the same with relative movement of the stopper35 against the elastic energization force of the spring 355, and theboth are cleaved to expand a space between the protrusions 352 and 332such that the guide block 43 may pass therebetween. By further movingthe slider 36, the used small container 4 in the use region F iscompletely pushed out from the holder 3 to escape, the elasticallydeformed spring 355 restore its original shape and the stopper 35 andthe lower jaw 351 thereof return to its original positions. Then, theguide block 43 of the new small container 4, which reaches the useregion F, is latched by the protrusions 352 and 332 of the lower jaw 351and the upper jaw 331, respectively. As a result, as illustrated in FIG.20, the small container 4 in the use region F is sandwiched by the lowerjaw 351 and the upper jaw 331 to be retained by the abutment surface3.61 of the slider 36 together with the remaining small container 4 inthe retreat region R. Then, after moving the slider 36 forward until thealternative portions 364 engage with the concave cutouts 324 arrangedanterior to a current position (until the click feeling is obtained) thehand and finger are released from the pressing button 368 to prevent theslide movement of the slider 36. As a whole, the holder main body 31,the stopper 35 and the slider 36 compose the holding mechanism forholding a plurality of small containers 4 and the slider 36 composes thepushing mechanism for pushing out the small container 4 toward the useregion F.

In order to actually apply the adhesive to the object to be adhered, itis necessary to open the small container 4 in the use region F. In orderto open an unused small container 4 and open the discharge opening 421,the lid body 422 integrally formed with the discharge opening 421 isdetached from the discharge opening 421. At that time, the front cap 38may be used as the opening tool.

The front cap 38 is a member for shielding the small container 4 in theuse region F and may be detachably mounted on the front end site of theholder main body 31. Specifically, a substantially cylindrical rear endsite is fitted to the upper fitting portion 342 of the sleeve 34 and thelower fitting portion 356 of the stopper 35 so as to cover them from theoutside. The front cap 38 is provided with a cutting unit 381 having anengaging body 383 engaging with the lid body 422 of the small container4 in the use region F and an accumulating unit 386 including anaccumulation space communicated with the cutting unit 381 foraccumulating the lid body 422 cut by the cutting unit 381.

As illustrated in FIGS. 27, 28 and the like, the cutting unit 381 has asubstantial cylindrical shape as an outer shape of a major part except afront end site. The front end site of the cutting unit 381 has adiameter slightly smaller than that of a site behind the same and has aconvex screw 382 on an outer periphery thereof. The engaging body 383having a substantially internal gear-shape opening backward and forwardis provided in an inner space of the cutting unit 381, in the vicinityof a boundary between the front end site and the site behind the same ofthe cutting unit 381. A concavo-convex shape of an inner periphery ofthe engaging body 383 may be meshed with a. concavo-convex shape of theouter periphery of the lid body 422 of the small container 4. Theengaging body 383 is not completely continuous in a circumferentialdirection and one side (upper side in the drawing) is cut off to form agap. A latching body is provided so as to be accommodated in the gap asseen from the axial direction. The latching body is such that a rear endthereof is located posterior to a rear end of the engaging body 383 anda protrusion 384 protrudes inward therefrom. The protrusion 384 is suchthat front and rear end faces in cross section are inclined in the axialdirection to form a triangle shape and a tip end thereof is locatedinward of the inner periphery of the engaging body 383. A thinplate-shaped arm 385, which extends forward from the protrusion 384, ofthe latching body is an elastically deformable resin spring of whichfront end is connected to an inner peripheral surface of the front endsite of the cutting unit 381 to be a fixed end.

The accumulating unit 386 is attachable and detachable to and from thecutting unit 381. Specifically, this is a member having a bottomedcylindrical shape of which front surface is blocked, capable of beingscrewed to the screw 382 of the outer periphery of the front end site ofthe cutting unit 381 to be attached to the front end site of the cuttingunit 381 so as to cover the same as a cap of a plastic bottle and thelike. An outer diameter of the accumulating unit 386 is substantiallyidentical to an outer diameter (of a portion except the front end site)of the cutting unit 381.

When mounting the front cap 38 obtained by screwing the accumulatingunit 386 to the cutting unit 381 to be integral with each other on theholder main body 31, the lid body 422 of the small container 4 in theuse region F is inserted into the engaging body 383 and the outerperiphery of the lid body 422 and the inner periphery of the engagingbody 383 are meshed with each other. At the same time, the protrusion384 engages with a rear end side of the lid body 422, the concave groove424 for separating the discharge opening 421 and the lid body 422 of thesmall container 4 to bite into the same. In this situation, when theuser allows the front cap 38 to rotate around the axial line relative tothe holder main body 31, the engaging body 383 rotates the lid body 422around the axial line relative to the discharge opening 421 and maywring off the lid body 422 at a portion of the concave groove 424 todetach the same. At that time, the protrusion 384 engaging with theconcave groove 424 faces to the rear end of the cut lid body 422 andserves as a falling inhibiting structure for inhibiting or preventingthe cut lid body 422 from falling from an opening behind the cuttingunit 381.

When it is desired to detach the front cap 38 from the holder main body31 without wringing off the lid of the small container 4 in the useregion F, the front cap 38 is not rotated around the axial line and thisis parallelly moved forward in the axial direction to be pulled out.Even in a state in which the lid body 422 of the unopened smallcontainer 4 is fitted to the engaging body 383 of the front cap 38 andthe protrusion 384 engages with the rear end side of the lid body 422,by displacing the small container 4 backward relative to the front cap38, it is possible to allow the protrusion 384 to run on the outerperiphery of the lid body 422 together with the elastic deformation ofthe arm 385 to pull out the lid body 422 from the engaging body 383.That is to say, it is not required to unnecessarily open the smallcontainer 4.

The cut lid body 422 falls forward from the engaging body 383 to reachan inner space of the accumulating unit 386. The inner space of theaccumulating unit 386 is the accumulation space for accumulating the lidbody 422. By detaching the accumulating unit 386 from the cutting unit381 to open the accumulation space to outside, the accumulated lid body422 may be taken out of the same.

When the adhesive remains in the small container 4 after applying theadhesive to the object to be adhered, as in the first embodiment, byturning the lid body 422 detached from the discharge opening 421, andinserting the discharge opening 421 into the concave hole 423 to blockthe discharge opening 421, the remaining adhesive may be temporarilypreserved. In this manner, the concave hole 423 of the lid body 422becomes an engaging portion, which engages with the discharge opening421.

In addition, a lever 39 for squeezing the small container 4 arranged inthe use region F is attached to the holder main body 31. As illustratedin FIGS. 14, 16, 29, 30 and the like, the lever 39 has a shape obtainedby connecting end edges on one side (upper side in the drawing) of apair of side walls 391 each having a substantially fan-shape in crosssection by an upper wall 392. The lever 39 is supported by the stopper35 such that a rear end side is swingable around a front end sidethereof, which is a pivot of the fan-shape in cross section.Specifically, bearing holes 394 are formed on front ends of the bothside walls 391 of the lever 39 and pivots 357 inserted into the bearingholes 394 are formed on the outer surfaces of the opposed walls 354 ofthe stopper 35, which face to the side walls 391. However, it is alsopossible to form the pivots on a side of the lever 39 and form thebearing holes on a side of the stopper 35. Springs 395, which extend ina direction in which the lever 39 is pressed to be operated (downward inthe drawing) are integrally provided on end edges on the other side(lower side in the drawing) of the both side walls 391. The spring 395is such that a tip end thereof is brought into contact with the innersurface of the peripheral wall of the front end site of the holder mainbody 31 to press up the lever 39 so as to protrude outward (upward inthe drawing).

A squeezing body 393 protrudes inward from an intermediate site of theupper wall 392 of the lever 39. An inner peripheral surface of thesqueezing body 393 is brought into contact with the base 41 of the smallcontainer 4 in the use region F. The inner peripheral surface of thesqueezing body 393 expands forward and backward and in a circumferentialdirection so as to form a concave surface shape corresponding to theouter peripheral surface of the base 41.

The side walls 391 of the lever 39 are inserted into gaps, between thebase body 32 and the inner guide 33 on the front end site of the holdermain body 31. The squeezing body 393 enters the use region F in theinner space of the holder main body 31, especially, a position facing tothe base 41 of the small container 4 through a window 334 provided onthe inner guide 33.

At the time of application operation of the adhesive, the user holds afront end site of the holder 3 in the posture to hold a pen, forexample, and presses the rear end side of the lever 39 by the hand andfinger. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 30, the lever 39 rotates inward tobe buried against the elastic energization force of the spring 395, therear end side thereof becomes the point of effort, the front end sidethereof becomes the point of support and the squeezing body 393, whichis brought into surface contact with the base body 32, becomes the,point of action, and it becomes possible to squeeze the small container4 by the principle of leverage to allow the adhesive in the smallcontainer 4 to be discharged from the discharge opening 421. At thattime, by reaction of squeeze of the small container 4 by the lever 39,the lower jaw 351 of the stopper 35 is lifted up in a direction toapproach the upper jaw 331 of the inner guide 33 through the bearingholes 394 and the pivots 357, so that the guide block 43 of the smallcontainer 4 may be sandwiched more firmly by the lower jaw 351 and theupper jaw 331 and the small container 4 does not escape. Also, asillustrated in FIG. 29, a plurality of springs 395, which extend fromthe both side walls 391 of the lever 39 separately stand side by sideand the small container 4 in the use region F is accommodated betweenthe both springs 395, so that slip of the small container 4 in theholder 3 may be inhibited also by the springs 395.

In addition, a lock body 30 for locking the lever 39 when not being usedis mounted on the container of this embodiment. As illustrated in FIGS.14 and 16, the lock body 30 is obtained by allowing a pin 302 toprotrude from an outer surface of a thin plate-shaped base plate 301,which engages with the lever 39 to prevent pressing operation of thelever 39, in other words, the rotation thereof inward. The base plate301 is inserted into the gap between the base body 32 and the innerguide 33 on the front end site of the holder main body 31. The pin 302is inserted into a glass hole 325 provided on a peripheral wall of thebase body 32 facing to a side surface of the inner guide 33. The glasshole 325 has a shape obtained by continuously providing a plurality ofround holes seen in cross section in the axial direction.

The user may put the hand and finger on the pin 302 to perform operationto displace the lock body 30 in the axial direction. As illustrated inFIG. 16, in a state in which the pin 302 engages with a peripheral edgeon a front end side of the glass hole 325, the base plate 301 of thelock body 30 engages with the end edge on the other side (lower side inthe drawing) of the side wall 391 of the lever 39 to prevent the lever39 from rotating to be buried. On the other hand, in a state in whichthe pin 302 engages with the peripheral edge on a rear end side of theglass hole 325, the lock body 30 retreats from a trajectory of therotation of the side wall 391 of the lever 39 to allow the lever 39 torotate to be buried. By a function of the lock body 30, disadvantagethat the lever 39 is unexpectedly pressed while the container is put ina bag and the like to be carried and the content leaks from the smallcontainer 4 may be effectively avoided.

According to this embodiment, the adhesive container provided with aplurality of small containers 4 in each of which the adhesive isenclosed and the holding mechanism for integrally holding the pluralityof small containers 4 and arranging one of them in the use region F inwhich the adhesive may be applied to the object to be adhered andremaining ones in the retreat region R continued from the use region F,so that it is possible to divide the adhesive into a plurality of smallcontainers 4 and open the small container 4 one by one at the time ofusage to use the adhesive. Therefore, it is easy to use up the adhesiveof an amount of one small container 4 with nothing left and the smallcontainer 4 unnecessary at that time is not required to be opened andthe adhesive in the unopened small container 4 may be preserved for along time. If the adhesive remaining in the opened small container 4 issolidified, the maximum amount of loss is limited to one small container4. According to this, waste due to the difficulty in usage and theimpossibility in usage of the solidified remaining adhesive, which isnot used, decreases.

Since the holding mechanism is provided on the holder 3 including theuse region F and the retreat region R and the lever 39 for squeezing thesmall container 4 arranged in the use region F is provided on the holder3, operation to discharge the adhesive from the small container 4 toapply the same to the object to be adhered becomes easy.

The lever 39 is provided with the squeezing body 393, which is broughtinto contact with the small container 4 when squeezing the smallcontainer 4 arranged in the use region, and the inner peripheral surfaceof the squeezing body 393 has the concave surface shape corresponding tothe outer peripheral surface of the site with which the squeezing body393 is brought into contact of the small container 4, so that the smallcontainer 4 may be squeezed not at a point but at a surface and thecontent may be efficiently squeezed.

The lever 39 is provided with a plurality of springs 395 engaged withthe peripheral wall of the holder 3 for accumulating the reaction forceby elastically deforming when squeezing the small container 4 arrangedin the use region, the plurality of springs 395 separately stand side byside, and the small container 4 arranged in the use region isaccommodated between the springs 395, so that it becomes possible toinhibit the small container 4 from relatively slipping in the holder 3when squeezing the small container 4 by the spring 395 of the lever 39.

The pushing mechanism for pushing the small container 4 arranged in theretreat region R toward the use region F is provided on the holder 3,the small container 4 arranged in the use region F is pushed out by thenext small container 4 right behind the same to be removed and the nextsmall container 4 is newly arranged in the use region F by the operationof the pushing mechanism, so that the discharge of the used up smallcontainer 4 and the loading of the new small container 4 may besimultaneously performed, and convenience is further improved.

Since the rotation inhibiting mechanism for inhibiting the smallcontainer 4 arranged in the use region F from rotating around the axialline is provided between the holder 3 and the small container 4, it isprevented that the small container 4 rotates in the holder 3 whenopening the small container 4 to prevent the opening operation.

Since the holding mechanism is configured to hold the plurality of smallcontainers 4 in a state being arranged in a straight line, it becomespossible to hold a large number of small containers 4 while making theentire container smaller. Also, the container has the pen-like shape, sothat this may be used in the posture to hold the pen.

The pushing mechanism is composed of the slider 36 capable of movingback and forth in the axial direction relative to the holder main body31, and the slider 36 is provided with the alternative portions 364,which selectively engage with any of a plurality of engaging sites 324arranged intermittently in the axial direction of the holder main body31 and are concave in the direction intersecting with the axialdirection, the elastic portions 365 elastically deformed to accumulatethe reaction force in association with the escape of the alternativeportions 364 from the engaging site 324 and the restrained portions 366capable of displacing between the restrained position to inhibit thealternative portions 364, which engage with the engaging site 324, fromescaping from the engaging site 324 and the release position to allowthe alternative portions 364 to escape from the engaging site 324 withthe deformation of the elastic portions 365, so that both of thealternative mechanism for applying the click feeling at a plurality ofsites on the pathway of the slide movement of the slider 36 and theswitching mechanism for inhibiting/allowing the slide movement of theslider 36 may be mounted on a single slider member 36, therebycontributing to small sizing of the mechanism, small sizing of theholder 3, and eventually, small sizing of a product.

The opening tool 38 for opening the small container 4 arranged in theuse region F is further provided, so that the time and effort to preparethe tool such as the scissors and the eyeleteer when opening the smallcontainer 4 may be eliminated.

The small container 4 is obtained by integrally forming the dischargeopening 421 of the adhesive with the lid body 422 for sealing the same,the engaging portion, which engages with the discharge opening 421 toblock the discharge opening 421, is provided on the lid body 422, thesmall container 4 is opened by detaching the lid body 422 from thedischarge opening 421 of the small container 4 and the discharge opening421 is blocked by engaging the engaging portion of the lid body 422 withthe discharge opening 421 thereafter, so that the lid body 422 oncedetached from the small container 4 becomes the lid of the smallcontainer 4 in which the adhesive remains again, and this is useful fortemporarily preserving the remaining unused adhesive. In addition, thedisadvantage that the content leaks from the small container 4 whendisposing the small container 4 may be avoided.

The small container 4 is obtained by integrally forming the dischargeopening 421 of the content with the lid body 422 for sealing the sameand is provided with the holding mechanism in the holder 3 including theuse region and the retreat region, in which the cap 38 mountable on theholder main body 31 engages with the lid body 422 of the small container4 and the lid body 422 is detached from the discharge opening 421 of thesmall container 4 by the operation of the cap 38, so that the smallcontainer 4 may be easily opened by using the cap 38 as the openingtool.

The cap 38 is provided with the cutting unit 381 having the engagingbody 383 mounted on the holder main body 31 and engaging with the lidbody 422 of the small container 4 and the accumulating unit 386including the accumulation space communicated with the cutting unit 381for accumulating the lid body 422 cut by the cutting unit 381, so thatthe lid body 422, which is the waste generated with the opening of thesmall container 4, may be preferably accumulated and convenience isfurther improved.

Since the falling inhibiting structure 384 for inhibiting or preventingthe lid body 422 cut by the cutting unit 381 from falling withoutreaching the accumulation space is formed on the cutting unit 381, thelid body 422 cut from the small container 4 may be surely allowed toflow on a side of the accumulation space. Possibility that the lid body422 unexpectedly fallen from the cap 38 falls on a desk or a floor tomake environment dirty is also decreased.

The adhesive container of this embodiment is extremely suitable as thecontainer of the moisture-curable adhesive or the instantaneousadhesive.

Meanwhile, the present invention is not limited to the embodimentdescribed above in detail. For example, the engaging body of the cuttingunit of the cap (front cap) in the above-described embodiment has theinternal gear-shape meshing with the lid body of the small container,which has the pinion-shaped outer periphery, however, it is alsopossible to allow the engaging body and the lid body to engage with eachother by another concavo-convex engaging structure, a frictionalengaging structure and the like.

Although the cap (front cap) in the above-described embodiment isconfigured to rotate around the axial line to wring off the lid body ofthe small container, a mode in which the lid body is cut out from thedischarging unit by a blade extending in the width directionintersecting with the axial direction is also possible. As illustratedin FIG. 31, a blade 387, which extends in the width direction and ismovable back and forth in the width direction, is provided on thecutting unit 381 of the cap 38, and a blade edge thereof is arranged soas to be able to be brought into contact with a boundary portion betweenthe discharge opening 421 and the lid body 422 of the small container 4.The user presses down a button 388 integrally provided with the blade387 inward in the width direction. Then, the blade 387 moves inward tointersect with the discharging unit 42 of the small container 4, therebycutting the boundary portion between the discharge opening 421 and thelid body 422. The blade 387 at that time is inserted right behind thelid body 422, so that the cut lid 422 is inhibited or prevented fromfalling without reaching the side of the accumulating unit 386. That isto say, the blade 387 serves as the fall inhibiting structure.Alternatively, there also is a method of using by breaking a portion inthe vicinity of the concave groove 424 of the discharging unit 42 on theboundary portion between the discharge opening 421 and the lid body 422to bend to cut the lid body 422 by inclining the cap 38 from the axialdirection in a state in which the lid body 422 is held by the engagingbody 383 and/or the blade 387 (without wringing off the lid body 422meshed with the engaging body 383 or cutting the boundary between thedischarge opening 421 and the lid body 422 by the blade 387).

Although the holder in the above-described embodiment is provided withthe lever for squeezing the small container, the lever is not anecessary component. When the small container incorporates a needlevalve as a known container of correcting fluid, it is possible to openthe small container and apply the content by pressing a valve body ofthe needle valve to an applied object. In such a mode, it is notnecessarily required to provide the lever on the holder.

The mode and the number of the concave portion, the alternative portion,the elastic portion and the restrained portion, which are the componentsof the alternative mechanism and the switching mechanism are not limitedto those of the above-described embodiment. The alternative portion, theelastic portion and the restrained portion may be members separate froma second member. For example, the alternative portion and the slidermember may be separate from each other and the elastic portion and theslider member may be separate from each other.

It goes without saying that a part of the configuration of the firstembodiment may be applied to the second embodiment and a part of theconfiguration of the second embodiment may be applied to the firstembodiment.

Also, the content contained in the container of the present invention isnot limited to the moisture-curable adhesive and the instantaneousadhesive. This may be the adhesive other than them. Further, the contentis not limited to the adhesive. The present invention may be effectivelyused as the container of a content in a liquid form, a paste form, ajelly form and the like of which deterioration is wanted to be preventedor of which freshness is wanted to be kept such as paint, cream, soysauce, row wasabi, mustard and drugs such as eye lotion.

A specific configuration of each unit may be variously modified withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention may be used as the container for containing thecontent in the liquid form, the paste form, the jelly form and the likeand discharging the content.

EXPLANATIONS OF LETTERS OR NUMERALS

-   1, 3 . . . holder-   2, 4 . . . small container-   F . . . use region-   R . . . retreat region

1. A container used for containing a content and discharging the contentto use, comprising: a plurality of small containers in each of which thecontent is enclosed; and a holding mechanism for integrally holding theplurality of small containers and arranging one of the small containersin a use region in which the content may be discharged and remainingsmall containers in a retreat region continuous from the use region. 2.The container according to claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism isprovided on a holder including the use region and the retreat region,and a lever for squeezing the small container arranged in the use regionis provided on the holder.
 3. The container according to claim 2,wherein the lever is provided with a squeezing body brought into contactwith the small container when squeezing the small container arranged inthe use region, and an inner peripheral surface of the squeezing bodyhas a concave surface shape corresponding to an outer peripheral surfaceof a site with which the squeezing body is brought into contact of thesmall container.
 4. The container according to claim 2, wherein thelever is provided with a plurality of springs engaging with a peripheralwall of the holder for accumulating reaction force by being elasticallydeformed when squeezing the small container arranged on the use region,and the plurality of springs separately stand side by side and the smallcontainer arranged on the use region is accommodated between thesprings.
 5. The container according to claim 2, wherein a pushingmechanism for pushing out the small container arranged in the retreatregion toward the use region is provided on the holder, the smallcontainer arranged in the use region is pushed out by a next smallcontainer right behind the small container and the next small containeris newly arranged in the use region by operation of the pushingmechanism.
 6. The container according to claim 1, wherein the holdingmechanism is provided on the holder including the use region and theretreat region, and a rotation inhibiting mechanism for inhibiting thesmall container arranged in the use region from rotating around an axialline is provided between the holder and the small container.
 7. Thecontainer according to claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism holds theplurality of small containers in a state being arranged in a straightline.
 8. The container according to claim 7, wherein the holdingmechanism and the pushing mechanism for pushing out the small containerarranged in the retreat region toward the use region are provided on theholder including the use region and the retreat region, and the smallcontainer arranged in the use region is pushed out to be removed by thenext small container right behind the small container and the next smallcontainer is newly arranged in the use region by the operation of thepushing mechanism, wherein the pushing mechanism comprises a slidercapable of moving back and forth in an axial direction relative to aholder main body, and the slider includes an alternative portionselectively engaging with any of a plurality of engaging sitesintermittently arranged in the axial direction of the holder main bodyand are concave in a direction intersecting with the axial direction, anelastic portion for accumulating the reaction force by being elasticallydeformed with escape of the alternative portion from the engaging site,and a restrained portion capable of displacing between a restrainedposition for inhibiting the escape of the alternative portion engagingwith the engaging site from the engaging site and a release position forallowing the alternative portion to escape from the engaging site withdeformation of the elastic portion.
 9. The container according to claim1, further comprising: an opening tool for opening the small containerarranged in the use region.
 10. The container according to claim 1,wherein the small container is obtained by integrally forming adischarge opening of the content with a lid body for sealing thedischarge opening, an engaging portion engaging with the dischargeopening to block the discharge opening is provided on the lid body, thesmall container is opened by allowing the lid body to be detached fromthe discharge opening of the small container, and the discharge openingis blocked by allowing the engaging portion of the lid body to engagewith the discharge opening thereafter.
 11. The container according toclaim 1, wherein the small container is obtained by integrally formingthe discharge opening of the content with the lid body for sealing thedischarge opening, the holding mechanism is provided on the holderincluding the use region and the retreat region, a cap capable of beingmounted on the holder main body engages with the lid body of the smallcontainer, and the lid body is detached from the discharge opening ofthe small container by operation of the cap.
 12. The container accordingto claim 11, wherein the cap is provided with a cutting unit mounted onthe holder main body and having an engaging body engaging with the lidbody of the small container and an accumulating unit including anaccumulation space communicated with the cutting unit for accumulatingthe lid body cut by the cutting unit.
 13. The container according toclaim 12, wherein a falling inhibiting structure for inhibiting orpreventing the lid body cut by the cutting unit from falling withoutreaching the accumulation space is formed on the cutting unit.
 14. Thecontainer according to claim 1, wherein the content comprises anadhesive.
 15. The container according to claim 14, wherein the adhesivecomprises a moisture-curable adhesive.
 16. A small container used forcomposing the container according to claim 1, wherein a content isenclosed and the small container is arranged in the use region or theretreat region.
 17. A holder used for composing the container accordingto claim 1, including the use region and the retreat region, andprovided with the holding mechanism and the lever for squeezing thesmall container arranged in the use region.
 18. The container accordingto claim 3, wherein the lever is provided with a plurality of springsengaging with a peripheral wall of the holder for accumulating reactionforce by being elastically deformed when squeezing the small containerarranged on the use position, and the plurality of springs separatelystand side by side and the small container arranged on the use positionis accommodated between the springs.
 19. The container according toclaim 3, wherein a pushing mechanism for pushing out the small containerarranged in the retreat region toward the use region is provided on theholder, the small container arranged in the use region is pushed out bya next small container right behind the small container and the nextsmall container is newly arranged in the use region by operation of thepushing mechanism.
 20. The container according to claim 2, wherein theholding mechanism is provided on the holder including the use region andthe retreat region, and a rotation inhibiting mechanism for inhibitingthe small container arranged in the use region from rotating around anaxial line is provided between the holder and the small container.